Endless elements surged all around, and a terrifying force of elemental suppression spread outward. Every element except Rock Element was directly stripped away.
This terrifying sense of oppression filled the surrounding sky with crystals of Rock Element. They were shaped like crosses, contracting slightly before expanding again.
Feeling the danger within these crystals, Wu Zhangkong's eyes flickered.
He didn't make a move, but his eyes were filled with astonishment, even disbelief.
On a child who was only nine years old, he had actually sensed a threat—and a very obvious one at that.
This child had already become a real threat to him, and might even pose a danger to his life. Wu Zhangkong could hardly imagine it, much less understand it.
But at that moment, it was happening right before his eyes.
Watching the two sides face off, Long Hengxu glanced toward Li Ang.
This young master was someone he truly couldn't afford to offend. A single word from the Pagoda Master of the Spirit Pagoda could decide whether Eastsea Academy lived or died. He really couldn't afford to cross him.
Wei Xiaofeng, Zhang Yangzi, and Wang Jinxi had some background too, but compared with a behemoth like the Spirit Pagoda in Eastsea City, their connections were nothing.
When Long Hengxu looked his way, Li Ang's expression remained calm. He raised a hand and took a gemstone from around his neck.
It was a pale blue gemstone, but in truth, it was a recording device.
Shen Ming and Ming Yue had anticipated what Li Ang's personality was like, and they could guess that life at school wouldn't be smooth for him.
Especially since he was so blunt. Whatever he had to say, he said outright, without beating around the bush.
In situations like that, if you didn't handle things well, it was easy to offend people.
With his somewhat solitary personality, being ostracized was perfectly normal wherever he went.
It was precisely because they understood him that Shen Ming—or rather, Ming Yue—had made this special arrangement for Li Ang.
They had put a recorder around his neck to document his daily life. The recordings were erased once every three days, and the resulting data was uploaded to the cloud.
Long Hengxu froze when he saw Li Ang hand it over. Li Ang, meanwhile, looked at Wu Zhangkong.
"You're Teacher Wu, right? Would you be interested in going outside for a fight? I want to see just how strong I am right now."
Li Ang's voice was calm, but beneath that even tone was a rare hint of emotion—or perhaps excitement.
Noticing his mood, Wu Zhangkong paused for a moment, then nodded.
Wu Zhangkong was just as interested in this monster.
As the two walked away as if no one else were there, almost nobody paid Long Hengxu any attention.
Long Hengxu felt a little awkward, but when he saw Wei Xiaofeng, who had already been seriously injured, he fell silent for a moment, then quickly called on the students to take him to the hospital.
"Wang Jinxi, Zhang Yangzi, I'd like you both to come with me. I hope you'll tell me honestly what happened so I can decide on an appropriate punishment."
Long Hengxu's tone was stern. He didn't feel comfortable saying anything to Wu Zhangkong, a top-tier genius and Six-Ring Soul Emperor.
And Li Ang was someone he even less dared to offend.
But he wasn't nearly as concerned about Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi.
At that moment, Wu Zhangkong was studying Li Ang with curiosity.
"They're your classmates, yet you were so ruthless. You practically crippled Wei Xiaofeng, and it looks like you put Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi through the wringer too."
As he spoke, Wu Zhangkong looked straight at Li Ang, trying to judge what the nine-year-old boy was feeling.
Was he a Demon Pill or a Spirit Pearl? Or did he simply have an unusual temperament?
Yet under his gaze, Li Ang remained calm. Compared with his complete unwillingness to talk to those three, he had a certain respect for Wu Zhangkong.
After all, the main reason Tang Wulin had such an upright personality early on, and managed to keep that Demon Pill nature from fully erupting later, was Wu Zhangkong.
If Tang Wulin hadn't gone to Shrek Academy later on, and had continued learning under Wu Zhangkong, Li Ang figured Tang Wulin's most likely fate would have been to enlist and become a high-ranking military officer.
He would have been highly respected throughout the military, or joined the Tang Sect and become its deputy sect master—or even its sect master.
Instead of becoming a complete Demon Pill like he did in the usual timeline, blowing up Federation aircraft one moment, Federation bunkers the next, and then Federation military bases.
From Shrek's perspective—or rather, Tang Wulin's—the Federation might not have seemed like a good thing. Corruption and bribery were rampant within it.
But it had to be admitted that the Federation represented the rights of ordinary people, and its military bases and various facilities protected ordinary residents.
From the perspective of ordinary people, neither the Federation nor Shrek was anything good. But compared with the Federation, Shrek was harder to control, and it had rotted to the core.
Shrek Academy actually let students take their final exams in ordinary Federation cities, with the goal of killing Federation personnel and officers. Even Li Ang found how outrageous that was hard to accept.
Yet under Wu Zhangkong's searching gaze, Li Ang remained calm.
"I asked them to take turns cleaning and bringing me meals, and asked what they wanted in return. Then the three of them might have gotten angry."
"Today, they started ostracizing me for no reason. Tonight, they even told me to go to bed early, saying I was disturbing them."
Li Ang paused there. He had drawn the blackout curtains, leaving the dormitory in near darkness.
If him doing his own thing under those circumstances still counted as disturbing his roommates, then Li Ang didn't know what he was supposed to say.
Seeing Li Ang's calm expression and the faint bewilderment on his face, even Wu Zhangkong was briefly taken aback.
He scrutinized the boy before him. Judging from the calm in his eyes, he could more or less tell that Li Ang wasn't some malicious person.
"All right. If you've really been wronged, I'll help you sort it out. Come on. Let me see your talent—or rather, your strength."
"You've shown that you can pose a threat to me. I'm quite curious about you."
As he spoke, Wu Zhangkong looked straight at Li Ang. Six Soul Rings appeared around him in an instant, and the terrifying aura of a Soul Emperor poured out.
Feeling the overwhelming presence radiating from Wu Zhangkong, Li Ang stood his ground as well.
His gaze was calm. But as he raised his hand, Rock Element gathered in his palm, until it formed a Long Spear made entirely of elemental energy.
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